motivational analysis of organizations

❚❘ STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP STYLES INSTRUMENT
Gaylord Reagan
Leadership styles are not static. They can be changed to serve the needs of an individual,
group, or organization. A small investment of time and energy to identify and then to
consider the significance of a strategic leadership style can return big dividends.
Productive individuals, groups, and organizations that willingly make this investment
and accept responsibility for shaping their own futures refuse to go on “doing what
comes naturally.”
THE INSTRUMENT
Theoretical Framework
Consultant Lawrence M. Miller (1989) writes:
All living things . . . exhibit patterns or cycles of development, moving from periods of vitality and
growth, to periods of decay and disintegration. The pattern of business growth and decline—and
the behavior of leaders—follows this same course . . . . It is natural for leaders in every stage to
rely on responses they find most comfortable and to fail when they do not adopt innovative
responses . . . . [The history] of corporations demonstrates this relationship, between the behavior
of leaders and the cycle of growth and decline. (p. 1)
Based on this observation, Miller constructs “a theory of corporate life cycles,”
which explains the natural stages of evolution experienced by organizations and the
people who lead them as they confront day-to-day challenges. Miller also identifies a
series of leadership styles that dominate each of the six stages of organizational life.
In designing the Strategic Leadership Styles Instrument, the author separated
Miller’s Builder and Explorer styles, added the Synergist style, and sequenced the
resulting styles as follows:
1. Prophet: A visionary who creates breakthroughs and has the human energy to
pursue them. The Prophet adheres to a set of values and has high standards. In
pursuing goals, the Prophet tends to rely on the support of a small circle of true
believers.
2. Barbarian: A conqueror who commands the organization and pursues rapid
growth. The Barbarian takes the Prophet’s vision and begins implementing it in a
direct, pragmatic, action-oriented, and forceful manner. Adherents of this style
This instrument is based on Barbarians to Bureaucrats: Corporate Life Cycle Strategies—Lessons from the Rise and Fall of
Civilizations by Lawrence M. Miller (1989). New York: Crain Publishers, Inc.
The Pfeiffer Library Volume 19, 2nd Edition. Copyright © 1998 Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer ❚❘ 143